Trees as a backstop

[IndyGunworks]

I am not talking about shooting at a target with a section of woods in the background. I don't believe that method is very safe as you never really KNOW where the bullet will end up.

I have about 50 cottonwoods that I will be taking down to cut a path through my woods. I may be some time before I can get fill dirt on the property to make a really nice back stop. I have thought about getting a few telepoles and sinking them in the ground to make a "cradle" where I can put larger 16 foot ish sections of trunks to use as my back stop for now.

Any concerns with doing this?

 

[Bfish]

I am not talking about shooting at a target with a section of woods in the background. I don't believe that method is very safe as you never really KNOW where the bullet will end up.

I have about 50 cottonwoods that I will be taking down to cut a path through my woods. I may be some time before I can get fill dirt on the property to make a really nice back stop. I have thought about getting a few telepoles and sinking them in the ground to make a "cradle" where I can put larger 16 foot ish sections of trunks to use as my back stop for now.

Any concerns with doing this?

I don't quite get what you are describing. But if you can shoot at it and a round can "sneak through" you are good to go. If by this you mean will your rounds go through some huge trees no... But if you stack them and there isn't something to fill in the gaps or better put do not create a solid backstop then yes there is something to worry about.

 

[chezuki]

But if you can shoot at it and a round can "sneak through" you are good to go. I

 

[wolfman]

I am not talking about shooting at a target with a section of woods in the background. I don't believe that method is very safe as you never really KNOW where the bullet will end up.

I have about 50 cottonwoods that I will be taking down to cut a path through my woods. I may be some time before I can get fill dirt on the property to make a really nice back stop. I have thought about getting a few telepoles and sinking them in the ground to make a "cradle" where I can put larger 16 foot ish sections of trunks to use as my back stop for now.

Any concerns with doing this?

2 rows, set vertical or horizontal, doesn't matter, just stagger the joints so a joint in the front face is filled by the fat in the back row and the joint in the back is protected by the fat in the front, and you are good to go

 

[upalot]

Thats my set up, like wolfman said, stagger the logs so there are no gaps. Mine is made of 18-20 inch logs.

 

[IndyGunworks]

I have never shot at logs before.... at least not when I was concerned about what might be behind them... ever have any bounce back or richochets?

 

[rockhopper46038]

Thats my set up, like wolfman said, stagger the logs so there are no gaps. Mine is made of 18-20 inch logs.

2 rows, set vertical or horizontal, doesn't matter, just stagger the joints so a joint in the front face is filled by the fat in the back row and the joint in the back is protected by the fat in the front, and you are good to go

I have never shot at logs before.... at least not when I was concerned about what might be behind them... ever have any bounce back or richochets?

That's pretty much my setup, too (mine is horizontal, set in front of a hillside and the back filled with dirt). I haven't had any ricochets come back at me, but I have considered sloping some fill dirt in front of the wall to forestall that, and to save my logs. That's going to require a crap-ton of dirt though, and I imagine it'll settle over time and have to be redone.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

My concern would be that eventually, if targets are placed in the same area often enough, you'll generate a path through the wood that might allow a bullet to get away from you. Wood can splinter and break when shot. Once the wood is shot away, there's nothing to stop the bullet.

 

[IndyGunworks]

In that case I would still have an incredibly safe area of about 900 feet of wooded area, no houses w/in a mile of the direction of shooting, and VERY limted possibility of tresspassers. If I had that happening though I would be able to see it, and fix the situation before it got out of hand.

 

[Leadeye]

What range to the backstop and what will you be shooting? Cottonwood is pretty soft and I can get 405 grain cast slugs through 8" of sycamore traveling at about 1K.

 

[IndyGunworks]

Varying range and varying caliber.... Will also be the backstop for the cannon.


Side question. How long would say 12-18 inch diameter cottonwood logs last if I stack soil up against them? How long if I put a tarp between the logs and the soil?

 

[Leadeye]

Cottonwood is pretty soft and spongy, hard to split. I don't know anything about BP cannons but I would think some controlled experiments would be in order. An 18 inch log will stop a lot of bullet, particularly when mixed in with some dirt.

 

[wolfman]

I have never shot at logs before.... at least not when I was concerned about what might be behind them... ever have any bounce back or richochets?

I have never seen it happen, but if you are concerned about it, put a skin of 5/16 chipboard on the front. Anything bouncing back would have to come back through the chipboard, not impossible, but would slow the projectile down a lot. It wouldn't last to long where you hung your targets the most, but with a little planning, you could make that area easy to change out as needed.

 

[Bfish]

Yeah yeah chezuki, I know how it sounded... I was picturing a guy stacking wood like one does firewood between trees and then shooting into it... That would allow for a round to "sneak" through... I could have said it better and maybe kept it to just make sure its impenetrable and you're good I won't try and justify any longer

 

[LarryC]

I am not real sure of the data, but wouldn't use stacked logs for High power rifle backstops. A 30-06 can penetrate quite a lot of wood ~ 20- 24" of wet cottonwood probably would stop any but an AP 30-06 (I have seen claims on the web of 26" of hardwood penetration with this round), however don't know how effective a cottonwood log would be when it dries out. I would say your plan would be good for handgun backstop, but I would certainly do some research (and probably beef up the logs) prior to using .223 or above rifle rounds.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

With respect to ricochet, I have a large 3-4' diameter treestump I shoot regularly as my primary backstop (There is a berm beyond it) and have never had a ricochet. Even with all of the lead in that stump, have never had an issue in the 3+ years shooting at it. It is currently about 1/3rd widdled away at the front side. Much sawdust/woodchips may soften/slow the incoming rounds.

 

[Leadeye]

With respect to ricochet, I have a large 3-4" diameter treestump I shoot regularly as my primary backstop (There is a berm beyond it) and have never had a ricochet. Even with all of the lead in that stump, have never had an issue in the 3+ years shooting at it. It is currently about 1/3rd widdled away at the front side. Much sawdust/woodchips may soften/slow the incoming rounds.

Sounds like you could melt that stump down for the lead.

 

[chezuki]

With respect to ricochet, I have a large 3-4" diameter treestump I shoot regularly as my primary backstop

Oh Robby... You mean feet, not inches correct?!?

 

[rockhopper46038]

With respect to ricochet, I have a large 3-4" diameter treestump I shoot regularly as my primary backstop (There is a berm beyond it) and have never had a ricochet. Even with all of the lead in that stump, have never had an issue in the 3+ years shooting at it. It is currently about 1/3rd widdled away at the front side. Much sawdust/woodchips may soften/slow the incoming rounds.

That's pretty tight!

 

[RobbyMaQ]

Sounds like you could melt that stump down for the lead.

Yeah... cutting it down is not an option. It will need to be burned or something.

Oh Robby... You mean feet, not inches correct?!?

I'm a really good shot dude.

yes... Those were Canadian Inches, which = 1 ft US